


saviours

by mangojae



Category: GOT7
Genre: 2Jae, Alchemy, Fantasy, M/M, Magic, fantasy!au, kpop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-09-13 14:42:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9128221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangojae/pseuds/mangojae
Summary: jaebum is on a journey and youngjae somehow gets caught up in it.





	1. prologue

The back of his neck feels like it's on fire when he steps into the all so familiar territory he grew up in.

Jaebum doesn't live anywhere flash in the land. Rather, the sword wielder lives in a small village south of one of the grand cities.

The grand cities of their land, 4 in total. All of them in different environments, and based around different animals. The closest one to Jaebum's village, _Lupus_ , is the city of wolves. Otherwise known as the mainland city.

The others, _Avis, Piscis_ and _Serpens_ all reside in their own areas. Those cities are distant, and even Jaebum himself isn't fully aware of who they are, or what they do.

It's been like this all his life, blazing sun, blue skies and a small, warm village he calls home.

He steps into the entrance. Nothing too fancy but the old sign is breaking, and he should make a note to help out in fixing it later.

He walks in the direction of Mr Joon's house. Ready to deliver him the beast skins he had asked Jaebum to obtain for him.

 _"Just about 3, I need the leather to make new seats for our medical centre."_ He remembers Mr Joon telling him, his signature bright smile highlighting the wrinkles on his face.

A skilled man, well known in the village for making the best furniture around. Knows his way around with his tools that's for sure.

Jaebum had to travel north, to the east of Lupus, to slay the beasts and gather the skins. They were pests to the city dwellers anyway, so there wasn't any real harm caused.

After the delivery, he was planning to head to his house and have some tea made by his mother.

A woman he loved and respected more than anyone. The only one who had always been there.

Jaebum's father? He died when Jaebum was 2.

There was a fire in the village and he risked his life saving Jaebum's and his mother's.

He never knew his father too well, but he was always known for being a great blacksmith, who crafted the finest swords.

Jaebum never knew what happened to  
them, they were lost.

Until a few months ago.

He found them in a secret storage room under the house, all his father's creations.

He noticeably saw a fine blade at the back, and when he got closer to it, he saw a note.

 _"Jaebum."_ It read.

And since that day, that has been the only weapon he has touched, used and killed with.

The sword slung across his back at the current moment.

His father's last memory, and gift to him.

Jaebum gets a few odd glares while he makes his way to Mr Joon's, which confuses the boy, but he shrugs it off.

Usually everyone would be jumping to start casual conversation, but now he's getting empty glares, worried glances and silent whispers.

The sky turns grey when he reaches Mr Joon's front door, and his hand is shaking when he reaches for the handle.

Jaebum's breath hitches.

_Why is he shaking?_

He turns the knob, stepping inside.

"Mr Joon?" He calls out, "I'm here with your supplies.."

It's quiet, _too_ quiet for a few minutes. But then he hears a bang from the back and a man scurrying into the living room.

"Jaebum! You made it, I'm glad." He blurts out, a smile that seems all too forced appearing on his face.

"..Uh, yeah. Here are your skins." Jaebum replies, placing them on the table in front.

"Thank you.." He trailed off.

"Excuse me, Mr? Is something wrong? I sensed something kind of off in the village earlier.." Jaebum began, his voice grower quieter.

Mr Joon looks at him like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide and vulnerable.

"Come with me." He whispers.

***

Jaebum is pulled along by the old man, in the direction of a place he knew all too well.

_The village's medical centre._

Basically what they had for a hospital.

"Wait, sir, why are you taking me—"

He shuts up immediately when he sees his aunt crying outside the building.

His mouth opens, but no words come out, and Mr Joon is already tugging him inside.

The elder nods at the lady at the desk, making their way to the emergency rooms.

He goes all the way to the back, opening the large doors.

There Jaebum sees the body of his mother.

_Dead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back w some new 2jae? me. :)
> 
> please stay tuned, i have plans for this story. also, please support it! comments and votes are always appreciated.
> 
> thank you all. ❤


	2. one

Jaebum trembles at the sight, and he feels an arm grip his wrist roughly.

"Jaebum, no. It's not what you think. She's not dead." Mr Joon assures him, tightening his hold on Jaebum's wrist.

Jaebum looked at him with wide eyes.

_"She's not?"_

Mr Joon nods.

"The medics here identified it. She's not dead. She's been **poisoned**."

Jaebum swears his heart stops beating for a second.

Mr Joon continues; "But the thing is, it's too drastic to be a generic poison and it's been identified to slowly break her down until she dies, for a duration of crazy _3 months._ This one requires a much complex cure as well..."

He knew how poisons worked, normal ones only go into effect for either 3 minutes or more complex ones, for 3 hours. They only required a simple brewed potion cure, but _3 months?_

Jaebum felt like he was going to puke.

"H-How did this happen?" He asks with a small voice.

He felt weak.

"No one is sure, she was found like that a day after you left. Collapsed on the floor.." Mr Joon murmurs, looking down at the woman's lifeless body.

"If she's poisoned, she'll still die... There's only 3 months and she's _gone._ " Jaebum fears, bottom lip quivering.

His body felt cold.

This _couldn't_ be happening.

He was supposed to be _with_ his mother, _protect_ his mother. She's been nothing but wonderful and nurturing to him. She couldn't disappear like this.

And _whoever_ did it, Jaebum swore he would kill them.

"No! No! There is a cure. There definitely should be!" A high pitched voice squeals from afar.

Jaebum turns abruptly to see a fairly young woman, dark brown, almost black hair and deep brown eyes, looking at him flustered.

"She's not gone forever! I've identified the samples of the poison in her system. It's a complex mix; some familiar Lupenian ingredients. Plus some Avian and I even found traces of Piscean elements in there..."

Jaebum still looks confused and taken aback, flustered by her words. "Wait a minute. Who are you?" He asks. He's never seen this girl before in his _life._

My name is Mina, I'm an alchemist from the main city of Lupus. You know what alchemists are right? We deal with potions and magical mixtures."

Jaebum rolls his eye and nods, of course he knows.

"I was summoned here yesterday by Mr Joon here, asking me to analyse the potion's ingredients. See if I could make a cure, but.."

Jaebum nods again.

Mina sighs, "It's a strange mix really. With ingredients from 4 of the cities. I found some unidentifiable ones, and I believe they are from Serpens. No doubt about it. That makes it a difficult mixture to combat." The girl concludes.

"Well, I'm not the best but I know what I found, and I know it's much too complex of a poison to be easily cured with simple a poison cure. It has ingredients from all 4 regions. Even _Serpens!_ No one ventures there if they don't belong there!" She exclaims, fearfully.

And true it was. Out of all 4 cities; Lupus, Avis, Piscis and Serpens, only Serpens is closed off to anyone else. The other 3 are open to whoever. Serpens is seen as a dark mysterious city, and their surrounding region is heavily guarded as well. No one outside of their walls knows anything about them.

"I know of alchemists who have studied the art from the 3 cities, but Serpens? _Never._ It's forbidden to outsiders.. But there is one that could help you." Mina begins.

"I know this may sound foolish, but I don't know if he even exists! But his name is Jinyoung. Park Jinyoung. An supposed amazing alchemist, known by almost everyone of us to ever live. He's travelled to each city, and learned about their alchemic ways. Even _Serpens_." She whispers the last part, sounding frightened.

Jaebum scoffs. "Did he really? I thought no one can enter Serpens if they aren't Serpentine."

"Apparently he snuck in there under some false identity for a while, and he tried to learn their secrets. He made it out though, safe and sound. It's crazy I know! But I've only heard stories from others... Who knows if he really has?" Mina trails off.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot. It's better than nothing. Do you know where he is now?" Jaebum asks her, running his hands through his hair.

" I heard from my teacher that he currently resides in Avis. She said she saw him at their city markets a few mornings ago. She only got back from Avis yesterday though, don't know if she was trying to fool me, but it's better than nothing." Mina replies, with a shrug.

"Right. Anything else?" Jaebum asks. 

The girl shakes her head, "Nope. You'll have to ask around once you get there."

"Also, I forgot to mention the poison's effects; It has your mother in a weird dream-like state, she's being tortured there every second we speak. It's attacking her mentally, the poison makes her go crazy. At least from what I can study so far. No idea what those Serpentine ingredients contribute to though, it's something I've never seen before. God knows what it's doing to her."

Jaebum is seething with anger, but the sadness is eating him away on the inside. He wants to save her, save his mother.

He looks at her with a heavy heart.

"I can't do anything else can I? We don't even know who did this to her and yet—"

Mr Joon shook his head, "Leave it be Jaebum. Do what you can."

Jaebum sighed, "How can I get to Avis? Will it take a while?"

Mina answers, "About 5 days by carriage. It's all the way up north, in the mountains. Avis is the _city of birds_ you know." She mutters, clearly unimpressed at Jaebum's knowledge of geography.

"What? It's that far? And by _carriage_ only?" He asks in shock.

"Of course you idiot. Unless you've got a horse _and_ know the directions, I'd suggest gathering up your coin and paying the carriage fare because it's much better than travelling there any other way." Mins scolds him.

Jaebum rolls his eyes "Whatever... Do you have something I can take to this _Jinyoung_ when I meet him?" He asks Mina.

"Course. Here's a sample of what we obtained, and the list of ingredients I identified." Mina answers, handing them to him.

Jaebum nods, "Thanks."

"I have 3 months right?" He asks to confirm.

Mina nods. "That's what I've analysed from its effects so far.."

He nods to Mina and Mr Joon, before taking one final look at his mother, leaning down to caress her cheek.

"I'll be back before you know it."

***

The next day, Jaebum has a fully packed bag, with a pouch of his saved up coin and his sword slung over his back.

He knows it doesn't take long to get to the city of Lupus, only an hour by walking. So he sets off at dawn.

-

Once he reaches, he immediately asks around for the city bound carriages.

Jaebum himself has only been to Lupus a few times. He knows his way around the big city, but he's never needed to travel to another.

He really doesn't know where the carriages are.

 _"Excuse me sir? Where can I find the carriages bound for Avis..?"_ He asks, multiple times. Many ignore him before he _finally_ gets an answer.

"Just keep heading straight boy. Turn left at the butchery and head straight 'til you see a sign. It'll be pretty clear from then on." The old man smiles, tipping his hat.

Jaebum nods, thanking him before running through his directions.

Before he knows it, he's at the sign, old and rickety. Yet very readable.

_"CARRIAGE STATION:_   
_RIGHT BOUND FOR PISCIS -_   
_LEFT BOUND FOR AVIS"_

Jaebum nods to himself, turning left at the section, being met with a crowd of people, huddled under the shade.

Ther is a fairly big carriage, enough for 20 people at a time to travel within, and two strong, mighty horses at the front.

He pushes his way past multiple crowds, finally reaching the front.

"Excuse me, how much to get a ride to Avis?" He asks the man.

"Seventy coin." The gruff man responds.

Jaebum is skeptical, but he gives the man what he wants, and gets on board.

"Wait a minute boy. Sword _off._ Weapons in the back, we don't allow them on board." The man stops him, narrowing his dark eyes.

Jaebum groaned, pulling his sword off his back, jumping down to walk to the back.

He places it with the other weapons, wiping his forehead with a sigh.

Getting back on board is draining and  all the poor young man can think of, is his mother's suffering before he falls asleep.

—;;

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  chapter 1 done and dusted! needed a bit more of an intro here so sorry for literally no 2jae interaction.
> 
> they should be meeting next chapter so yay!!
> 
> anyway, if anything here is confusing you, please feel free to ask. sometimes fantasy au's can get out of hand for some people to understand, and i'm not sure if i'm explaining things properly ??
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for reading! ❤


	3. two

5 days in a carriage, Jaebum realises, was definitely not a great experience.

Many were quiet and kept to themselves, although Jaebum couldn't help but feel pity for what seemed to be a young mother trying to care for her crying baby.

The pity, began when others sent her glares for not being able to keep her baby quiet, and Jaebum knew it wasn't his place to meddle so he didn't.

The next most annoying thing definitely was the girl sitting across him. She was young with sleek black hair and tanned skin.

She tried to talk to Jaebum numerous times, attempts at starting conversation failing when Jaebum would ignore her, closing his eyes and trying to rest.

A truly  _amusing,_  journey if anything to Jaebum.

The girl did eventually shut up when she realised Jaebum wasn't the slightest bit interested in who she was, or what she had to say.

The days were long and boring. Camp had to be set up at night, and the horses were stationed and taken care of by the coachman. 

Jaebum sighed and closed his eyes, knowing it would be a long journey.

***

_* 5 days later *_

The road is rocky and you can see everyone in the carriage jump every time it hits a bump in the road. It's Jaebum's least favourite thing about the experience, he knows that much for sure.

His head perks up when the carriage comes to a sudden stop.

He hears a soft _"finally!"_  from the annoying girl from before, and realised where they were.

_Avis._

Everyone quickly gets off the carriage and waits to pick up their luggage from the back, while Jaebum stays where he is.

Im Jaebum, the man who had never ventured further than Lupenian soil, had made it to Avis. 

 _"The city of birds,"_ Jaebum muses to himself, before finally getting off the carriage.

He jumps down onto unfamiliar soil. Unfamiliar land.

The ground is more firm, and the winds are definitely more cooler.

Jaebum feels a chill wind nipping at his skin and it makes him shiver.

He takes in his surroundings. 

Crowds of people, high slopes and a mountain view surround him and he's suddenly slightly afraid.

"Boy! Ain't getting 'yer stuff?" 

Jaebum turns to see the gruff old man from before staring at him. 

Jaebum could only nod and make his way over, firstly searching for the ever so familiar blade of his sword. 

He smiles as he spots the familiar metal and picks it up, swinging it over his shoulder like he always does. 

He quickly grabs his pack and slings it over his back.

He's ready to set off into the bustling streets of Avis when the raven haired boy realises something. 

_He needs to find the markets._

He remembers being told by Mina that this _elusive_ Park Jinyoung was last seen at the Avian markets. And if Avis is anything like the size of Lupis, the city he knows all too well, he'd have a tough time finding it on his own. 

He nods to himself and turns to the older man for help. 

"Excuse me, sir?" 

The gruff man narrows his eyes and looks at him. 

"Uh, do you know where the markets are around here..?" Jaebum asks, not entirely sure if the man was willing to listen or not.

The man sighs and pulls out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket, handing it to Jaebum. 

"'Ere you go kid, all you need to get around these parts." He says before walking away.

Jaebum raises his brow but decides not to question it. In a world like this, it's best not to question anyone at all.

He looks down at the crumpled paper and makes out a map. A map of the city rather, and it makes him sigh in relief.

 _The markets... Where could they be?_ Jaebum wonders as he searches the map with his eyes. 

"Aha!" He grins as he finds it. The writing seems to have faded slightly but that's okay with Jaebum.

He find the carriage stations on the map, using it as a guide to know where he is, and begins to walk. 

He goes through the main street first, passing restaurants and small inns, small chatter never seeming to leave his ears. 

He catches a few weird conversations on his way through the streets, even weirder since he only hears a few seconds before getting out of range.

His surroundings, were completely different. The atmosphere was nothing like his village, not even like Lupis. 

Birds of all sorts, mostly mountainous birds are strewn all over the city. The real creatures _and_ ones appearing on posters, shops and advertisement boards. He's never seen so many birds in his life, and he silently wonders if it's the same deal with fish in the seaside city of Piscis. 

_Probably._

Jaebum is flung back to reality when he finally sees the large sign. 

_**AVIAN MARKETS** _

Convenient, to say the least, but now Jaebum has to find someone who can help him find Jinyoung. 

It would be a blessing in disguise to find the _real_ Park Jinyoung instead of someone who could help, but Jaebum was 99.9% sure that couldn't happen. It was too late for morning shopping anyway, and that seemed to be the only time this Jinyoung shopped. According to Mina of course. 

He sighs and makes his way inside, greeted with warmer air, probably due to the mass amount of people bustling about in the marketplace. 

He pushes through crowds of people, and ponders on which market stalls to visit and ask first.

Jaebum concludes that basic things, such as fruit and vegetables should be noted as well as shops that sell ingredients for alchemy. Things like plants, powders and essences. He visits that shop first. 

The stall owner greets him with a smile. 

"Hello! Is there anything I can help you with?" The elderly man greets with a smile. 

"Ah, yes actually. Do you know anyone by the name of _Park Jinyoung_ that's recently shopped at your store sir?" Jaebum asks, getting straight down to the point. 

The man pauses for a second, as if in thought, and then shakes his head. "I don't think so, many of my shoppers don't tell me their names though... I guess that's not much help. I apologise boy." He sighs, tipping his hat. 

"Thank you for your help sir," Jaebum bows and leaves to the next stall.

He asks at a fruit stall next.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I don't think I know anyone with that name dear.." The woman running the stall replies sadly. 

Jaebum tells her it's alright, thanking her for her help anyway.

He turns to go to the next stall but is stopped by a rather peculiar voice.

"Park Jinyoung you say...?" The voice questions and Jaebum doesn't flinch. Fighting monster like creatures on an almost daily basis makes him a lot braver than you'd think.

He turns to face a rather short man, in a postman like uniform. 

Jaebum looks at him confused, "...And you are?" 

The man chuckles, "Just the local postman. Heard just now you're looking for Park Jinyoung. The alchemist right?"

Jaebum's eyes widen. "Yes, I am.. Do you know of him?"

The man nods, "Indeed, I've had to post a few parcels to his place. None today though." 

Jaebum's eyes literally light up at the statement. "That means you know where he is? Please tell me sir, I need to see him!" 

At this point Jaebum was desperate, he had to get there, and he had to get there _fast._

The shot postman raises his brow, "Of course. I'm just surprised at how many people had to see him today." 

Jaebum stops his rambling and stares at the postman. "Who else came..?"

The man laughs and pats Jaebum's arm, "It's nothing don't worry boy." He whips out a pen and paper, quickly jotting an address down and handing it to Jaebum. 

"Here it is, you just need to exit through the left entrance of the markets, then take a right and head straight until you see the _Falcon Park,_ afterwards take another right and you'll be on the street." He smiles. 

Jaebum looks down at the paper and nods. "Of course. Thank you so much sir!" He calls out, already running out of the marketplace.

***

Jaebum ends up finding the street crazily fast. He lets out a sigh of relief when he sees the familiar name on the signpost, walking down the path.

He looks for the number, 13-A, and grins to himself when he sees it. 

The small house didn't look any more different than all the other ones on the street. Jaebum couldn't pinpoint why he thought it would though.

He makes his walk up the small staircase and takes a deep breath before firmly knocking on the door. 

It takes about a minute or two, and the door slowly creaks open. 

Jaebum raises his eyebrow at the action but shrugs it off.

The door opens fully and he's met with caramel hair, brown eyes and bright clothing.

"H-hello..?" The boy answers timidly. 

"I'm looking for Park Jinyoung." Jaebum says and before he knew what was happening, the boy gasps loudly and tries to scramble away from the door.

Said boy trips over a rug and falls on his back, even more afraid than before.

"N-No! Stay away!" The boy squeaks, pulling up an almost transparent blue force-field around him. 

Jaebum widens his eyes, putting his hands up and backing away. "Woah woah, calm down I'm just looking for Jinyoung-" 

"No! You want to take him too right? You've come to do what _they_ did! Get away before I kill you with my own h-hands!" He yells, his bottom lip quivering. 

The scene seems almost comedic like in Jaebum's point of view but he can tell that this boy is genuinely afraid of something, and it shouldn't be him.

"No, I'm not. Relax please, I'm here to ask him for help for my mother.. I don't plan to _take_ him or whatever you're talking about.." Jaebum reassures him, stepping closer. 

"Put down your w-weapon first!" The boy exclaims, point at Jaebum's favourite sword.

He nods and places it on the floor in front of him. 

"There, happy?" Jaebum asks, exasperated

"You- Really aren't one of them are you...?" The smaller boy whispers. 

He pulls himself up, standing upright and diminishing the protective force-field around his body. 

"Come in." The boy says with a shaky smile.

Jaebum obliges, following the boy inside. 

He notices how messy the home is as he follows the boy inside. Of course Jaebum is curious but he won't question it. At least not at the moment. 

The boy suddenly turns to face Jaebum.

"So, who are you?" He asks.

"My name is Im Jaebum. I'm from a small village to the south of Lupis." Jaebum answers.

"..A Lupenian huh. So you're looking for Jinyoung for your mother?" 

Jaebum nods, "She's been poisoned with a complex mixture that needs a special antidote apparently. I've heard only Jinyoung can help.." 

The boy looks at him nervously, biting his lip slightly. 

"So who are you? A friend of Jinyoung's?" Jaebum asks.

"I'm Choi Youngjae. I guess you could say we're friends, acquaintances too maybe..." He trails off, looking down at his hands. 

"...Are you okay? Youngjae?" Jaebum asks the boy, slightly worried over his tone of voice.

Youngjae looks up from his hands, trembling slightly. 

He looks at Jaebum with teary eyes.

"J-Jinyoung isn't here anymore..." Youngjae manages to get out.

Jaebum looks at him with shock. "What?"

"Jinyoung's been k-kidnapped." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dang what happened that got youngjae so shook?? and jinyoung kidnapped?? wtf?? poor jaebum all he wants is his mommy. ):
> 
> anyway thank you all for your support this has already!! i hope to update this more frequently. thank you so much. <3


	4. three

Jaebum only stares at Youngjae, a look of disbelief on his face.

"He- What?"

Youngjae's facial expression changes drastically, resembling the look he had on when Jaebum first knocked on the door.

"I-It was, probably my fault." Youngjae finally whispers, looking down at his hands.

Jaebum widens his eyes. "So you just let him get captured?!"

"N-no! I wasn't even here!" Youngjae replies in shock.

Jaebum looks at him with raised brows, but he seems to believe him.

Youngjae sighs and tells him to take a seat. "Let me explain what happened."

Jaebum nods and does as the other asked, even though he's bursting to ask questions.

"It was this morning. Jinyoung and I usually go to the markets every morning, but today was different. He said he had to do something here so he told me to go myself—"

"And you just let him?!" Jaebum butts in, widening his eyes.

"No, no! Goodness.. What's your name? Jaebum? Please don't interrupt me, this is hard enough as it is."

The raven haired man sighs and nods, leaning back into his chair. Waiting for Youngjae to continue.

"So of course I tried to make him come with me, I wasn't supposed to leave him alone. If I did they'd get so mad at me, at least I know Mark would..." Youngjae adds the last bit in a quieter voice, something Jaebum doesn't pick up.

"And?"

Youngjae sighs, "He argued with me, so I gave up and left. I was only gone an hour, but who knew so much could have happened in one hour."

Jaebum raises his brow, "So what happened?"

Youngjae looks down, trembling slightly. "I c-came back and opened the door. The whole place was trashed and I was calling out Jinyoung's name. I got no reply so I went to the kitchen, where Jinyoung was sitting with his papers when I left."

Youngjae pauses for a moment, a soft sniffle coming from the boy.

Jaebum looks at him in pity, guilty that he accused Youngjae of not trying to help Jinyoung. The boy really seems too fragile for his own good.

"I found a note, scrawled in blood red ink. The handwriting was hard to read,  but I managed to understand it." Youngjae gulps and pulls crumpled paper from his pocket, handing it to Jaebum.

Jaebum unravels the paper, scanning the letters carefully.

The lettering was neat, and the note looked official in a sense. Though the blood-like colour of the ink wasn't very reassuring.

'To the acquaintance/s of Park Jinyoung,

Park Jinyoung has been identified as a criminal offender by illegally breaching our borders. He had resided in our land, and city for over a year, under a false identity. We will not tell you where this information has come from. He has been taken to face the consequences for such acts, and will be facing his punishment in the city of Serpens.

\- The Serpentine Guard'

Jaebum looks back up at Youngjae, the younger boy wiping his tears on his sleeve.

"He was taken, by the Serpentine?"

Youngjae nods, burying his face in his hands.

"I don't know what to do Jaebum! They trusted me, Jinyoung trusted me. This is all my fault, Mark's gonna kill me, they're gonna kick me out! I can't go back but they need to know... Please I'm so scared—"

Youngjae rambles and he doesn't even know if he's talking to himself or Jaebum. Hems breathing heavily and visibly shaking. Jaebum rushes to his side immediately.

"Hey, calm down, please? You're okay, you couldn't have known. It's not your fault, I don't know who else you're talking about but it'll be fine alright? Trust me." He reassures him, stroking his back.

Youngjae sniffles again and wipes his eyes.

"Please... I can't go back alone."

Jaebum runs his fingers through the younger's hair. "It's alright, calm down please?"

Youngjae then takes a deep breath and looks at Jaebum.

"Can you, come with me? You need Jinyoung anyway... And you can't exactly break into Serpens yourself and take him." Youngjae offers, quickly wiping the remains of his tears away.

Jaebum pauses for a minute, but realises that it's probably his best bet. Wherever they're going, it'll eventually lead to Jinyoung and that's who he needs.

For his mother.

"..Will we find him?" Jaebum asks, to make sure. Even though it sounds rude since Youngjae just got over his emotions.

"I hope so." Is all the younger says, looking down at the wooden floor.

"I'll come. But, where exactly are we going..?" Jaebum asks, realising he probably should've asked that first.

"Piscis. It's where our main house is."

Jaebum raises his eyebrows.

"Main house?"

Youngjae nods. He pulls up his sleeve all the way, showing a tattoo on the upper right section of his arm.

It's an intricate pattern, but Jaebum can't find any actual shape or picture within it. It's coloured white, and Jaebum feels like he should know why.

But he doesn't.

"What is that..?"

Youngjae looks slightly amused.

"You village dwellers don't really learn about this stuff do you?" He smiles a little.

Jaebum shakes his head.

Youngjae nods. "It's a tattoo, obviously. But it's white. It's a covenant tattoo."

Jaebum looks confused, "A covenant tattoo?"

"Do I really have to educate you on this?" Youngjae sighs. "Fine, whatever. I'm a member of a covenant. It's a group of people, however big, who have the same goal, idea or belief. Covenants need to have 3 or more members. The one I'm in is fairly small, only 6 of us. We don't really have a name, we could never decide."

Jaebum takes in the information. "So, it's like..? An organisation of sorts?"

Youngjae sighs, "Yes and no. It could really be something between a group of friends, or a whole army of people. If we believe in the same things or work for the same things, we do it together."

Jaebum nods, "So is Jinyoung in your covenant?"

Youngjae gives him a sad smile. "Yeah, he's one of the founders, I guess you could say. Him, and two others. Their names are Jackson and Mark, created the covenant a few years back. They swore to protect and care for the innocent. That's what we're about."

Jaebum smirks, looking amused. "Only 6 of you? You must be pretty talented."

Youngjae shakes his head, "No, no. I'm not! They are though, the people in my covenant are crazy talented, and I just stumbled upon them while helping out a homeless child on the street. He was injured.."

The older of the two smiles. "That's kind of you."

Youngjae blushes a bit. "Thanks."

Jaebum clears his throat afterwards. "So, is the tattoo something that just appears when you join the covenant..?"

Youngjae shakes his head. "Of course not! There's a whole ritual sort of thing that one of the 3 founders of a covenant need to do. It involves creating the tattoo and embedding it into the skin, but you also have to say an oath. Then a spell is casted, the tattoo is created and you're done." He finishes.

"Well thanks for the lesson, but you're gonna have to go back right? Tell them what happened." Jaebum asks, leaning forward in his chair.

Youngjae's eyes widen again, "Yeah.. I'm scared. I insisted they trust me to escort and look after Jinyoung here in Avis for a few weeks. I failed them Jaebum. I failed them terribly.." His voice becomes quiet.

"You haven't, you did your best." Jaebum says, hating how the poor boy was blaming himself.

"I should've let someone else go huh? What is a healer like me supposed to do, trying to protect Jinyoung with my measly spells. Even Bambam would have been better at this than me." He scoffs, looking down at his hands once again.

Jaebum raises a brow, half interested and half wanting to change the subject from Youngjae's self guilt. "So you're a healing mage? Explains the defensive spell earlier."

Youngjae looks back at him. "Yeah.. Sorry about that, I was pretty scared."

Jaebum smiles, standing up.

"No problem. So can we head off now..?"

Youngjae widens his eyes. "Now? To Piscis?"

Jaebum nods.

Youngjae groans, We can't. The last carriage leaves at noon. It's past that now. We'll have to go tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, do you mind if I stay the night..?"

Youngjae looks at him with the smallest of smiles.

"Of course not."

—;;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm keki and i don't know how to disperse information throughout chapters so i hit you with some important info all at once :) please, ask any questions if you need to! i hope you enjoyed.
> 
> please comment, vote and share this with your friends! thank you all so much ❤


	5. four

Jaebum realises how rude he probably sounded, asking to stay the night with Youngjae.

The young mage tells him not to worry, and that he would've offered anyway.

He quickly makes his way through the small home, into one of the rooms.

"I've only got one spare room here, it's a bit small but I think it'll be fine." Youngjae says softly.

Jaebum nods and mutters a soft thanks, making his way into the room and placing his bag and sword down.

"Ah, its evening already.. Have you eaten Jaebum?" Youngjae asks, making his way towards the kitchen.

Jaebum blinks before he answers, "No, I haven't actually."

"I'll make something. Do you like spicy?" He asks, opening one of the cupboards.

"I don't mind it," Jaebum replies. "Do you need any help?"

Youngjae laughs softly and shakes his head. "I'll be fine. You can clean yourself up if you want? We'll be gone early tomorrow it'd be best if you did it now."

"Oh, I don't want to intrude that much-" Jaebum is cut off.

"No! It's fine, really. Afterwards, I'll need to pack up Jinyoung's things to take them back to Piscis tomorrow when we leave. You can help me with that after if you feel that guilty." Youngjae smiles a bit, before heating up the stove.

"By the way, there should be a spare towel in that cupboard over there." Youngjae adds, crouching down to take out a pot from the bottom drawers.

"Ah, thanks," Jaebum says, before making his way down the small hallway, pausing a few seconds later.

Youngjae giggles before speaking, "Second door on your left Jaebum."

He hears the swordwielder let out an embarrassed laugh before he opens the door and steps inside.

Youngjae hears the click of the lock, and nods absentmindedly to himself, continuing to prepare them dinner.

* * *

Youngjae finishes cooking their meal rather quickly. It was only a simple stew he was taught how to make by his mother.

He decides to begin tidying up and packing away Jinyoung's things, so he makes his way down the hall, stopping to pick up a stray piece of paper on the floor. It was one of Jinyoung's notes, and he wonders how it got here from the small study at the end of the hallway.

Then Youngjae notices it wasn't finished, and tears threaten to well up in his eyes.

It was probably what he was writing when the Serpentines came for him. He probably put up a good fight but who knows what kind of power they have.

Youngjae clutches the paper to his chest, making his way down the hall, when a door suddenly pulls open.

He gasps softly and turns to his left, a bare-chested Jaebum, clad in nothing but a towel around his waist and soaking wet hair, standing in the doorway.

Youngjae feels his face grow hot, and he let out a small squeak as he realises his eyes were trailing up and down the other's body.

His face feels like it's on fire as he quickly stumbles his way down the hall and into the study, piece of paper almost crumpled in his hand.

Meanwhile, a rather amused Jaebum stands at the bathroom door, running his hand through wet hair. He laughs softly at how Youngjae reacted before, making his way to the spare bedroom.

Upon hearing the bedroom door close, Youngjae quickly places the paper on the desk in the study before opening the door again, peering into the hall just to double check. 

He emerges from inside the study, and makes his way into the kitchen to take out dinner for the two of them. He decides to simply ignore what just happened between them, and _pray_ Jaebum wasn't gonna be a jerk about it. 

He wouldn't though, right? 

Youngjae sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. He gets flustered incredibly easily you see. He lets his emotions get the better of him most of the time which isn't great for someone who should probably be calm 99.9% of the time.

He's set out the bowls of stew on the small dining table, still quite hot. Youngjae hissed softly as he felt his finger touch the side of the bowl for too long, the heat scalding his skin.

He groans and runs to the tap, running his finger underneath it. He didn't burn himself, but he just wanted to be safe.

At that exact time, he hears a door creak open and footsteps coming closer and closer. 

Youngjae takes a deep breath and turns off the tap, quickly wiping his finger on his pants. 

He turns to see Jaebum standing at the table, hair now dry and falling against his forehead.

"Ah, Jaebum you can start eating now, you don't need to wait for me." Youngjae says, placing away a few bowls he had just washed.

Jaebum takes a seat but doesn't begin to eat. "I'll wait, it's alright. This smells really good though, do you cook often?"

Youngjae can't help but beam at the compliment. "My mother taught me a few things, so did Jinyoung actually. I'm not the most amazing cook though, don't expect anything great." He laughs softly.

Jaebum looks at him with a small smirk and nods. 

Youngjae quickly takes a seat at the table and they both eat their meals in silence but not before Jaebum throws a compliment about how the food tastes even better than how it smelled. 

Youngjae smiles to himself again.

 * * *

After dinner, the two had gone into the small study Jinyoung had been using, and Youngjae brought a bag to pack his things into. 

"I'd leave his things here but no one will be here for a while, so I don't want to risk his things being stolen." Youngjae comments, just in case Jaebum was wondering. 

The job was done fairly quickly thanks to Youngjae knowing how Jinyoung usually organised his resources. 

They both head back into the living room, and Youngjae looks up at the old clock on the wall. "It's pretty late, we should get some rest before tomorrow." Youngjae yawns, rubbing his eye softly.

Jaebum chuckles gently at Youngjae's yawn and he nods in agreement, "That sounds like a good idea." 

Youngjae gives him a tired, bashful smile.

"Goodnight Jaebum."

"Night Youngjae."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i updated this after 10 years wowow. also more plot stuff should be happening next chapter, hopefully. and don't worry i haven't given up on this fic !!! please keep supporting it, thank you <3
> 
> this is unedited by the way forgive me D:


	6. five

 

Jaebum has never woken up in the city of Avis, and  _man_  he's glad this is probably the only time he ever will.

Birds chirp through the early hours of the morning, which is to be expected as Avis is the  _city of birds._  But in all honesty, Jaebum couldn't have been less prepared for the chirps and the squawks from outside.

He groaned and tried to cover his head with his pillow, his efforts going to nothing.

He gives up trying to get a few more minutes of rest, and he instead gets out of bed. He quickly does up the covers and tries to make the area presentable, since he felt bad about staying already. He could have easily stayed at an inn nearby but he just had to ask Youngjae if he could stay the night.

 _That boy was too unstable to stay on his own anyway._ Jaebum reassures himself.

He quickly opens his door, and peers down the hallway. He's surprised to see Youngjae with packed bags, plating up some bread and fruit on the table. The healer mage doesn't notice Jaebum staring at him from down the hall and continues, humming quietly.

Jaebum smiles a bit. He should've known Youngjae would already be up, he did say he had to take care of a few things before they left that morning.

Jaebum quickly made his way to the bathroom to freshen up, and pack the rest of his own things.

***

The two had finished their quick breakfast and managed to grab all the bags they needed.

Jaebum had his own on his back, and he carried one full of Jinyoung's things on his shoulder. Youngjae seemed to have his own on his back too, followed by another shoulder bag, full of Jinyoung's things, though it was noticeably smaller than the one in Jaebum's possession.

"Well, let's get going I guess." Youngjae mutters quietly, unlocking the door and pulling on his boots.

Jaebum follows the other, stepping outside and waiting for Youngjae to lock the door behind them.

The two walk the distance to Avis' carriage station, and Jaebum is thankful for Youngjae because he doesn't have a clue where they're going.

"So, Jaebum... You ever been anywhere else besides Lupis and Avis?" Youngjae asks curiously.

Jaebum raises a brow and shakes his head. "If the outskirts of Lupis don't count as 'anywhere else', then no I haven't."

Youngjae holds back a laugh, "Wow, a real village boy then aren't you?"

Jaebum gives the mage a playful glare. "It gives me a good body to say the least."

Youngjae's face turns red when he realises the other is hinting at the events of the night before. When Youngjae accidentally saw Jaebum shirtless and got all flustered about it.

The mage covers his face with his sleeves, "I thought you were nice cause you didn't bring it up, but my, I was mistaken." He said, and Jaebum could immediately sense the sarcasm and the fake shock.

The sword wielder shakes his head with an amused smile.

"So, Youngjae, how far is Piscis from here?" He asks, genuinely curious.

"6 days by carriage." Youngjae answers simply.

Jaebum's jaw drops.

No, I'm not kidding. It's the city by the sea, the  _city of fish_. Of course it's going to be further from the rocky mountainous area of Avis." Youngjae scoffs.

"Plus didn't it take like 5 days for you to get here?" Youngjae asks. "An extra day should be nothing?"

Jaebum sighs, "After the first one, I've come to the conclusion that I hate carriage rides."

Youngjae giggles, a little evilly almost. "Well you're gonna have the time of your life then."

***

They reach the carriage station after not too long, and manage to pack all their things on board. They're lucky they're catching the earliest carriage, as many people don't tend to wake up early enough for it, there's a lot of room for their bags.

Jaebum places his sword in the back, without having to be asked to do it by the man at the station.

He's ready to go in but stops when he sees Youngjae fumbling with something in his pocket. It looks like a green gemstone. He encloses the gem in his hand and murmurs a few words before a huge staff appears in his hold.

Jaebum had always been mystified by magic.

"Woah."

Youngjae gives Jaebum a quick yet shy smile, before turning to the man running the luggage part of the station.

"Sir, should I leave this in the back too? It's technically a weapon."

The man appears baffled but nods anyway. It was technically a weapon, Youngjae was right.

They then walk into the carriage and take their seats next to each other.

Jaebum gives Youngjae a weird look when he sits down.

"What?" Youngjae asks.

"You didn't have to show him that whole.. Magic staff thing. You could've kept it and no one would have known.." Jaebum trails off.

Youngjae laughs a little. "I could have yes, but that's not entirely fair, or playing by the rules is it? Any other mage would've been carrying their staff or wand, I just simply know a spell to make it compact. It's a bit hard to master but Bambam guided me through it."

Jaebum's curiosity is peaked.

"Bambam? You mentioned that name before, who is that?"

Youngjae's smile widened. "He's apart of the covenant! He's the other mage apart from me."

Jaebum counted in his head. "So you mentioned 4 people, who's the other one?"

"Oh! Yuggie! That's the last member, he's a lancer! He's super good with his lance, I swear it's like he dances with it, his moves are so swift and elegant and—" Youngjae stops when he realises he's babbling.

"Oh, I got a little carried away there.." He sheepishly admits, cheeks warming.

Jaebum only smiles. "It's alright, they sound amazing."

There's faint noise making its way into the carriage and the two realise a few more people are beginning to board.

By the time everyone's seated, Jaebum sighs and he  _knows_ , it's going to be a  _long_  journey.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's me keki! so i didn't give up on this as you could see. i still had a plan for this story and my motivations come back and i'm so excited for this again now!
> 
> thanks for your feedback on that a/n i made a lil while ago it helped me make the decision.
> 
> hopefully i can give you another chapter real soon, don't worry, the boys will all meet up soon!
> 
> thank you 


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